Starbucks Barista Strike Over Dress Code Reaches 100 US Stores

Baristas at about 100 unionized Starbucks Corp. locations have walked off the job since Sunday over the company’s new dress code, according to the labor group representing the workers.

The tally rose since Tuesday, when about employees at 50 locations had participated in the strikes, Starbucks Workers United said. The group represents baristas at about 570 of the chain’s more than 10,000 company-operated locations in the US. Stores that experienced disruptions due to strikes earlier in the week are back to normal operations, while workers at additional locations walked off the job.

Starbucks on Monday implemented a new dress code that requires baristas to wear solid black tops, a change from prior practice that allowed any color. There are also new rules on the bottoms baristas can wear, among other changes. Workers United alleged in a complaint to the US National Labor Relations Board that the changes during contract talks violate the law and show the company wasn’t negotiating fairly. 

In a statement Wednesday, Starbucks said that less than 1% of workers at US locations have participated in the strikes, and that nearly all stores have been open and serving customers. As of Sept. 29, Starbucks employed 201,000 people in US company-operated stores, according to a filing.

“It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they’re putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work,” Starbucks said. 

Starbucks earlier said it would continue to bargain in good faith and that it wants to ensure that differences between what’s agreed to in negotiations and what’s implemented in stores are addressed “lawfully and fairly.”

Baristas argue that the dress code won’t improve operations as Starbucks seeks to reverse five straight quarters of same-store sales declines, adding that a new wardrobe puts financial pressure on workers. The company has said it would provide two Starbucks-branded shirts free of charge but couldn’t guarantee they would arrive by May 12, when the new dress code went into effect.

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